is there any way to tell exactly what year an old Ford 302 may be?

Question

I'm pretty sure its either a 71 or a 72.

obviously if it was in the original car, i would know, so checking the VIN won't work

Answer 1

there should be a serial number on the block

Answer 2

There is a serial # around the top back intake area I think the letter C in the beggining means a '70 model engine. I recently rebuilt a Ford 302 for my truck and the '80 models seem to be a little higher performance with what looks like higher compression pistons if you are thinking about getting a lot of power.

Answer 3

VIN # on dashboard, you can see it through your windshield. 15 characters. 1 of the characters tell you the year, get the vin and either go to a ford site and put in that vin #, or go to a ford dealership.

Answer 4

Sort of. The casting # on the block itself is just above where the starter bolts on on the passenger side. Tough to see with the starter still bolted on. If it were original to the car you'd expect to see something like "D1AE-......". Here's a place to basically decode what is actually on the block and many other parts. http://www.hammar.dyndns.org/~djhamma/partnumb.htm

Answer 5

look in a chiltos or the haines for that year or ask at an autozone the id or engine vin is near the distributer on most old cars but ask

Answer 6

There are numbers stamped on the block and heads. Take that number to a good shop, or Ford Dealer, they can tell you

Answer 7

it actually will look like a clock with date of manufature

Answer 8

yep their right thanks if you have the heads shaved make sure you know how much get gaskets to replace what they shaved or you'll have to replace all push rods